- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Armenian president accuses opposition of coup attempt

Subscribe
Armenia's incumbent president described on Saturday opposition protests against the results of Tuesday's polls in the country, which elected Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisyan its new leader, as a coup attempt.
YEREVAN, February 23 (RIA Novosti) - Armenia's incumbent president described on Saturday opposition protests against the results of Tuesday's polls in the country, which elected Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisyan its new leader, as a coup attempt.

European and CIS observers described the February 19 polls, where Sarkisyan received 52.86% of the vote, as complying with international democratic standards. However, supporters of Sarkisyan's nearest rival, Armenia's first president Levon-Ter-Petrosyan, who garnered 21.5%, have refused to recognize the elections as valid. The opposition has been rallying in central Yerevan since Wednesday, calling for new elections.

"Our action will be resolute and sharp, aimed at maintaining stability and constitutional order in the country," President Robert Kocharyan said, adding that the country's stability could never be "a bargaining issue."

The outgoing president held three separate meetings on Saturday with chiefs of the country's police, Army and security service. He complained that the events in Armenia were aimed at creating tensions and regretted the absence in the country of "an important element of democracy," a culture to admit failure.

Senior police officers assured the president that the police had enough capacity to neutralize provocations and maintain law and order in the republic.

Earlier on Saturday, Kocharyan decreed to dismiss Gagik Dzhangiryan, deputy prosecutor general, who expressed his support to Ter-Petrosyan at an opposition rally on Friday.

Meanwhile, the European Union and Washington have issued statements to congratulate Armenia on "competitive" presidential polls.

"We congratulate the people of Armenia on the active and competitive presidential election of February 19 and note the preliminary assessment of the OSCE's Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and Parliamentary Assembly that the election was 'mostly in line with OSCE and Council of Europe commitments and standards for democratic elections,'" State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey said on Friday.

However, Washington pointed to certain problems with electoral procedures and urged the Armenian government "investigate all allegations of irregularities, and implement steps to improve future elections."

The EU Presidency welcomed "the genuine efforts that were made to address the shortcomings in previous elections" and called Armenia's elections "an important test for democracy."

The EU also expressed concerns about the electoral process and pushed for further improvements "to address the remaining challenges."

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала